Nieuw Amsterdam : Grand Hall 1938

THE GRAND HALL: The Grand Hall is an excellent interpretation of the ship’s predominating theme. Hendrik T. Wijdeveld conceived it as a subdued setting for the play of life that is continuously enacted here. The room is a symphony in gray that provides a perfect foil to the habiliments of post-prandial activities, with emphasis on the distaff side. The decorators have correctly interpreted the architect’s theme and there is not one jarring note to disturb it. John Raedecker made the cast aluminum ceiling, which tells the story of life in beautifully molded half-reliefs. Using male and female figures, supplemented by bird motifs, the composition ascends and descends the scale of human existence, from childhood to old age. At night the room is comfortable and inviting; by day the light pours in through huge windows two decks high, framed in stainless steel and engraved with heroic sized figures by Charles Eyck. Then the room takes on the soft, smoky, harmonious hues of its predominating color. Extending almost the full width of the hall, above the steel and glass entrance doors at either end, are huge panels delicately executed by Gerard V.A. Roling. They further emphasize the room’s temporal theme. At the forward end, nude figures on galloping horses progress together in obvious harmony, while, opposite, the companion picture expresses, through the confused position of the horses and the aggressive attitudes of the figures, the retarding influences of discord and strife.